A 1973 graduate of the Academy for Drama and Film in Bucharest, class mentored by actors George Dem Loghin, Dem Radulescu and Adriana Pitesteanu, Nicolae performed on stage in the theaters of Botosani and Sibiu, before joining the State Jewish Theater of Bucharest, TES, in 1982. The roles he embarked on since ranged from light-hearted musicals to comedies and dramas. Playwrights like Georges Feydeau, Elie Wiesel, Sholem Alecheim, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Mario Diament, Woody Allen, Frederich Dürrenmatt gave him the lines, and directors such as Harry Eliad, Moshe Yassur, Alexander Hausvater, Kincses Elemer directed his performances. Nicolae plays on the TES stage in both Romanian and Yiddish. He is a stage-voice professor at the Academy for Drama and Film in Bucharest, a 2002 Knight of Romania's National Order for Merrit, and a 2018 Officer of the National Order for Merit.